Rating: 
Summary: A Little Piece of Steve Martin
Review: I have read and watched most of Steve Martin's stuff and my favorite two books to date are: "Shopgirl" - the best - how he can write with a woman's perspective is awesome, and "The Pleasure of My Company" - the way he uses words to describe! I want to find out what Daniel Cambirdge is up to now - or probably the better way to say it: what he is thinking now! When I read these two books, I felt like I got a little piece of Steve Martin and it gives me the chills.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tremendously Tender and Funny Story
Review: In SHOPGIRL, Steve Martin proved he could write a good, engaging novel. In THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY, Martin proves he can tell a great story!Daniel Pecan Cambridge wants what everyone wants: love. As the title suggests, Daniel spends a great deal of time alone. He lives out his days almost exclusively in his antiseptic, highly organized Santa Monica apartment. He ventures out only if he can navigate the 8-inch-high curbs he fears and avoid gas station attendants in blue hats. Daniel has obsessive-compulsive disorder. His search for love fills the book. It sends him to the local Rite Aid via a safe route to ogle Zandy, the young blond behind the counter: "The Rite Aid is the axle around which my squeaky world turns, I find myself there two or three days a week seeking out the rare household item such as cheesecloth." He dilly-dallies, checking out earplugs and "liquid-filled shoe inserts that claim to prevent varicose veins" while watching Zandy from afar. Killing time he even enters a contest: the Tepperton's Apple Pie Most Average American Essay Contest --- not once, but twice. Once as Daniel Pecan Cambridge and the other time as "Lenny Burns." The love search also sends him across the street to the polished Elizabeth, a real estate agent dealing with condos in his neighborhood. Daniel is obsessed with her, and fabricates meaningful exchanges out of experiences that are as mundane as passing each other on the street. He asks himself how he should talk to her: "Act like myself," he suggests. And then we peek into the workings of his mind. Rejected by Mensa (a clerical error, he estimates), he ponders the expression "Act like myself." "Let's say my shopping list consists of two items: soy sauce and talcum powder. Soy sauce and talcum powder could not be more dissimilar. So here's my point. This question I'm flipping around --- what it means to act like myself --- is related to the soy sauce issue. Soy and talc are mutually exclusive. Soy is not talc, and vice versa. I am not someone else, someone else is not me. Yet we're available in the same store. The store of existence. This is how I think, which vividly illustrates Mensa's loss." And vividly illustrates Martin's talent. Elizabeth and Daniel do eventually speak in Daniel's plot to get to know her, but he inflates the significance of their "relationship" in his mind so much so that when he turns his affections elsewhere, Steve Martin, in a beautifully descriptive and funny passage, compares Clarissa (his new object of affection) to Elizabeth: "She reflected light; Elizabeth sucked it up. Clarissa was a sunburst; Elizabeth a moon pie. So now my preoccupation with Elizabeth became a post-occupation as I turned my Cyclops eye onto Clarissa. Yes, I would always love Elizabeth in some way, and one day we would be able to see each other again but it was too soon right now. Better to let her handle her own pain, with her own friends, in her own way. But Elizabeth was at fault here. She had destroyed whatever was between us by making a profound gaffe: she met me." And then love sends Daniel to Texas, to the home of his family, and it's there that we discover the genesis of Daniel's disorder and that he is in fact capable of true unconditional love. It is no wonder that he wins the "Most Average American" contest --- not once, but twice. Despite his debilitating disorder he is the average Joe. And Steve Martin has written a tremendously tender and comic story about being that average Joe who counts ceiling tiles, adds up the household light bulb wattages, and harbors a host of other protective defenses and rituals rendered funny with Martin's clever pen. --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating:
Summary: The Pleasure of Steve Martin's Company
Review: I really enjoyed Shopgirl, but fell in love with the Pleasure of My Company. I often hestiate to buy a novel in hard cover (one might call me budget conscious? ) that is this short--however, it worth it. I read the book in just a few hours, but it will stay with me for a long time. Daniel is a wonderful, warm, and slightly sad character. I loved the first person narration. Daniel is obsessive-complusive and Martin nails down his inner life. His hilarious attempts at romance, his nutty essay, his road trips are all spiced with humor and a twinge of realism. Martin's writing is warm and honest. The ending is so wonderful, it might move you to tears (I will say no more so as not to ruin it). I was quite impressed by a modern man who works to solve his own problems instead of blaming others (his attempts at therapy are also humorous). Martin dispels, intentionally or not, so much of our addiction based culture. Daniel learns strength and tries to conquer the world on his own terms--with a quiet heart. A beautiful little story. Martin is fantastic.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Screenplay Masquerading As An Adequate Book
Review: It was with mild anticipation and strong curiosity that I bought The Pleasure of My Company. I've found Steve Martin's comedy, theatre, and film work to be enjoyable, which made me eager to explore his writing endeavors. In the end though, I found the book to be a lot like Martin's recent films: pleasant, but not memorable. The strength of the book lies in the characterization of Daniel Pecan Cambridge. Thanks to some strong narration, Martin makes Cambridge so alive that even the rationalizations for his behavior seem somewhat logical. This strength is augmented by Martin's easygoing writing style, which allows Cambridge's story to move effortlessly from one situation to another. However, what undercuts these strengths is Martin's inability to delve into Cambridge's and the secondary characters' emotions beyond a perfunctory level. Because of this lack of depth, even the more outlandish scenes (like Cambridge's essay and his attempts to seduce Elizabeth) come across as either mildly humorous or mildly frustrating. This weakness, combined with a much too rushed ending, leaves the reader feeling somewhat dissatisfied with what could be a fascinating story. The Pleasure of My Company will probably make a good movie. In fact, I thought I was reading a screenplay treatment instead of a novel. But, situations and emotions which can be fleshed out by actors need to be detailed when they are put into a book. It is in this area that The Pleasure of My Company falls short. It was a mildly enjoyable read; but, in the future, I think I'll stick to Martin's other endeavors.
Rating:
Summary: Martin's is a Weird, Deep Mind
Review: I like Steve Martin. I like his movies, particularly ones such as LA Story and Bowfinger which give you a view on how he views the world. "Pleasure" is like this but on a much different scope. We sometimes view celebrities as having it all together but reading this book gives you a view of the insecurities and depth of Steve Martin's mind. But in the end I must be entertained. I found the first part of the book slow and slightly confusing. But after the set-up, the character development is excellent as you search for the subjects that you most identify with. And, of course, Martin's dry-witted humor is sprinkled throughout and quite entertaining. By the end of the book you are emotionally attached to the characters and enjoy the contrived, happy ending. While I was not bowled over by the book, I did enjoy it. It is a very short read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Having been a huge fan of Steve Martin's comedic stylings I was bowled over by this book. His keen observations and hilarious descriptions of events and people had me in tears at several points and at others I wanted to weep in sympathy for the hero of the book. I have since read Shopgirl and found it to be nearly as entertaining but in a different way. I hope Steve Martin continues to write and hope he will one day write a full-length novel to prolong the fun!
Rating:
Summary: A sympathetic character
Review: I love a book where there is so much care given the careful choice of words, the construction of a sentence, the irony of a situation, and the love of the characters. Daniel Cambridge is the unusual subject and teller of his own story, that of an obsessive-compulsive man looking for a meaningful relationship and life from a base in his Santa Monica apartment. Daniel lives much of his life vicariously, but eventually ventures out of his fantasies and into the world. Steve Martin has written a well crafted tale with wit and great observation of what it is to be human.
Rating:
Summary: I now see the Rite Aid and Kinko's in a sweet manner
Review: I bought the Pleasure of My Company on audiotape. Steve Martin narrating the book brought the character, Daniel to life. It was like listening to the "secret neurotic thoughts of Steve Martin." Steve makes Daniel, a character you want to root and cheer on -- a true underdog. Daniel can be seen as strange and borderline creepy but he brings in such detailed logic of why "he does what he does" that I understand his fears. I myself can not step off curbs or turn on lights without thinking of Daniel. I love the fact that Steve uses common stores like Rite Aid and Kinkos as a central part of Daniel's day. I took away from this book realizing we are all human and to some point, we are all a bit common, but we all have a story and hopefully, a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: An odd, but pleasant read
Review: "The Pleasure of My Company" isn't quirky in the way that David Lynch films are quirky, but it's unusual in that the lead character suffers from some sort of mental problems, including obsessive/compulsiveness. The character, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, is still wholly sympathetic and likable, and "The Pleasure of My Company" tells the tale of how he came to find happiness. Much like many of Martin's movies, the book is warmly human and ends on a touching and sentimental note. On the way, Martin does a good job of taking the reader through Cambridge's neuroses and showing how he manages to climb out of the morass that he's fallen into. As a matter of craft, Martin is skilled in creating sympathetic and layered characters who compel the reader to learn more about them. However, Martin gives in to a tendency to use too many adjectives and awkward vocabulary, apparently only to make his writing more lyrical. This is not a fatal weakness of the book, but it becomes distracting at times. All in all, this is a quick and pleasant read.
Rating:
Summary: A delightful novel of paradoxes
Review: Steve Martin's second novel is a novel of paradoxes. The main character, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, is the embodiment of these paradoxes: he is lonely, but has much love to give; he is logical to an insane degree; he is a social outcast in many senses of the phrase, but fancies himself a catch for any woman. The novel is extremely well-written and does a fantastic job of immersing the reader in the story and connecting him or her to the characters. It is easy to believe and identify with every character, and Martin definitely creates some memorable ones, especially Brian, Philipa, and, of course, Daniel himself. The humor is subtle, quirky, and endearing without undermining the novel's tone and emotion. It is admirable that Martin does not fall into the trap of creating a stereotypical character with mental illness. He instead portrays the everyday through anxiety- and compulsion-tinted glasses. I felt that _Pleasure of My Company_ is more evolved compared to _Shopgirl_. The characters are more fully realized, as is the storyline. _Shopgirl_ is also a unique and beautiful novel, however, and should definitely not be missed. Fans of Martin's humor and films may not find the actor/comedian's most prevalent personality obvious in these novels, but instead may gain a new understanding of another, more private facet of his personality.
| 
